[hef19898]

All true for companies aiming, or forced to aim, for unicorn status. A bootstrapped Uber can be a viable, profitable local business, so.

There are so many business models out there that don't require blitzscaling to succeed. I would be worried if my access to VC money to outgrow any competition would be my only competitive advantage I have.

[PeterisP]

A bootstrapped Uber-like company can't survive the entry of a funded Uber-like company in that local market, as their expected initial promotional campaign and discounts will have you running at a loss for months which you can't afford unless you have substantial cash reserves.

This particular example (prolonged "dumping" of services far below cost in the business of taxi-like-services) is what we've seen in practice a bunch of times in many cities as there have been multiple 'waves' of richly funded new entrants trying to come in.

[hef19898]

Taxi services are doing just fine, even if the are pressured by Uber. So there is that.

[Retric]

Taxi are allowed to pick people up who hail them on the street or at a subway stop etc. That’s a huge protected revenue source.

[darepublic]

Also some ideas depend on network effects more than others. Make something that is useful even if nobody else is using it and you protect yourself from this